Most ED visits over in four hours

MOST Australians visiting hospital emergency departments in 2011-12 were completed within four hours, data out on Friday revealed.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported 64% of emergency department visits were completed in four hours and 90% of patients had left the ED within eight and a half hours.

About 28% of emergency department patients were admitted to hospital after their emergency department care in 2011-12.

For those patients, 29% were admitted in four hours or less, and 90% were admitted within 14 and a half hours.

In 2011-12, 50% of patients were treated within 21 minutes of presenting to an emergency department, and treatment started for 90% of patients within 108 minutes of presentation.

About 72% of patients were treated within an appropriate time for their urgency category.

Almost 100% of resuscitation patients and 80% of emergency patients were seen on time.

There were over 6.5 million presentations to emergency departments in the 12 months to 30 June this year.
Of those presentations, 2, 235,455 were in New South Wales (up 7.8% on 2010-11) and 1,238,522 were in Queensland (up 3.6% on 2010-11).